When I first started teaching, it was exciting. I loved education and working with young people. I was very idealistic and as corny as it may sound, I thought in my own way I was changing the world.
Through the years, my initial excitement turned to stress and anxiety. Teaching was an overwhelming responsibility. The stress of dealing with students, papers, lesson plans, report cards, principals, supervisors, co-workers, and parents would weigh down on me and I would doubt why I even became a teacher. Don't get me wrong, I never stopped believing in the value and importance of education but my passion for the work would erode sometimes.
Stress is common in new teachers as well as veteran teachers but this doesn't have to lead to burn out and leaving the profession. Here are a few tips that may help.
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Paperwork will quickly pile up as you embark upon the school year. It was not unusual for me to have piles of papers on my desk. These papers would include homework, staff memos, attendance sheets and other things. You may also receive a lot of staff handbooks from your school. Get a hold of paperwork right away. Organizing papers in a file cabinet, file crates, or any other way that is suitable for you. The point is to get organized, not how you do it.
When it comes to student work, try to get it back to your students as quickly as you can. As you give assignments and tests and students turn them in, you could easily have over fifty papers on your desk waiting to be graded! It is extremely stressful trying to read and grade numerous papers at once. You may wonder how you will get through them all and still get to your lesson planning and other teaching responsibilities. Get these papers back to your students as soon as possible and this will reduce your stress level